Overview
The Bayfield 36 is the final production design from Bayfield Boat Yard of Clinton, Ontario, drawn by Haydn Gozzard - the brother of company founder Ted Gozzard, who designed the larger Bayfield 40. Introduced in 1984 and built for just four years before a factory fire ended production in 1988, the 36 is rare: a conservative, heavily-built full-keel cutter with a clipper bow, bowsprit, raised counter transom, and hand-finished teak trim, produced in small numbers to a quality standard closer to a custom boat than a production yacht. Surveyors and owners consistently describe the accommodations as improbably spacious for a 36-footer - a Canadian Yachting review noted it is a “big” 36, with a layout that packs what would typically be found on a 40-footer.
The LOA of 41 feet 3 inches includes the bowsprit, which carries the yankee jib outboard of the staysail stay, giving the cutter rig its characteristic flexibility. Working sail combinations - staysail plus main for heavy air, full rig for moderate conditions, running square with yankee poled out and staysail blanketed - make the Bayfield 36 a capable short-handed offshore boat despite its modest performance numbers.
Construction
The hull is solid hand-laid fiberglass with moulded internal reinforcement to create the interior substructure. The deck is balsa-cored. Chainplates are tied into bulkheads or special structural stubs bonded to the hull - a detail that matters for long-term integrity. The mast is keel-stepped. Internal ballast is 6,500 lbs of encapsulated lead, yielding a 35.1% ballast ratio that is adequate for offshore work and consistent with other full-keel designs of the era. The engine is a Yanmar 4JHE 44 hp diesel, accessed beneath the companionway and through the starboard cockpit bench.
The aluminium fuel tank - 45 US gallons - is an inherent weakness. It sits forward of the companionway deep in the bilge and is highly susceptible to electrolytic corrosion in salt water; this is the most common fault found on surveyed examples.
Under Sail
Performance is deliberate. The full keel and bowsprit geometry make tacking through close angles slower than a fin-keel boat, but the 36 rewards patient, angle-conscious sailing with good boat speed on a reach. The heavy displacement absorbs chop and delivers a comfortable, predictable motion offshore. The 1987 review in Canadian Yachting noted it “will surprise a few sailors with its legs” when the breeze fills in from the beam - and this is the correct mental model for the boat: a comfortable passagemaker that performs best once off the wind.
Buyers Notes
The aluminium fuel tank is the most important item to inspect - and to budget for replacement if its condition is uncertain. The original stove was fitted for butane gas, which is difficult to source in North America; most owners have converted to propane. Nominal specification draft is 4 ft 11 in, but actual waterline drafts of 5 ft 6 in to 5 ft 9 in are common due to overbuilding and typical cruising weight. Exterior stowage is minimal - no lazarettes or anchor locker beyond the bow roller. The teak deck and trim, while beautiful, requires committed maintenance or a willingness to glass over the deck and refinish bare brightwork on a schedule. With only four years of production and a small total build number, finding parts requires working within the owner community.
Sources and Further Reading
» Bayfield 36 Review, Richard Jordan, Waves Magazine
» Contemporary Classic, Sven Donaldson, Canadian Yachting